Jesus Christ in Prophecy

Jesus taught that in Him were fulfilled ALL the prophecies of Scripture about Messiah, or the Christ:

Luke24:25-27:  And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"  Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. 24:32 They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?Luke 24:44-47 Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."  Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,  and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

It is manifestly true that Jesus Christ is the subject of many prophecies in the Scriptures. Those who catalog such things have described over 300 specific prophecies related to Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, but there are many more, if we consider the following:

The Old Testament sacrificial system points to Jesus Christ. There are many types and shadows that point to Jesus Christ. There are numerous appearances ("The Angel of The LORD") of Jesus Christ prior to His arrival on earth as a human.
We are told that the creation depended on Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is personified as the "wisdom of God" in Proverbs 8.
Jesus Christ is the great "mystery Man" described by David, in his own person, in many of the Psalms.
If we were to take the Person of Jesus Christ from the Old Testament, we would have to set it afire and let it be consumed down to ashes, and then scatter the ashes. He is woven into the Old Testament in so many ways, and so carefully, that His presence pervades and informs the entire book.
Who is this Jesus Christ of Prophecy?

Our study today can only scratch the surface of this excellent topic, yet it is one of the key topics of all the Scripture, and certainly one of the clearest proofs that the Bible is true--and that Jesus is Lord.

1. Jesus Christ referred to Himself many times as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies: See Luke 4:17-19, Luke 24:44, Matt. 26:54.

2. The Apostles, Likewise, referred to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the O. T. prophecies: See Acts 3:18, Acts 13:29-31, 33, 1 Cor. 15:3-4. Many people have found the gateway to their conversion in a study of the prophecies of Scripture, but it is NOT TRUE that the mere intellectual study of prophecy will effect a conversion: See 1 Cor. 2:13-14. Also see Rom. 10:9-13. The Holy Spirit is the agent, and I respond to Him with a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. It's an act of the will. I choose Him.

Prophecies about Jesus Christ throughout the Bible

1. Jesus refers to Himself as the "Root and offspring of David (Rev. 22:16)." This is the key to understanding the prophetic Scriptures about Jesus Christ-He is both progenitor, or Creator, of the human race, and the Greatest Man of all. This is true because He is "God manifest in the flesh," and "The word made flesh." Hence the Old Testament is really part of a giant circle, in which the Creator takes on humanity, becomes man (Phil 2:5-6), and the Savior of mankind (see Romans 5:12-21). (There is NO WAY we can deal with all this material; here are a few highlights)

2. Genesis. Jesus is the "Seed of the Woman;" Genesis 3:15 (See Is. 7:14, Matt. 1:20-23). This is a fascinating statement, because the only way Jesus could have been "seed of the woman" (an expression never used in the Old or New Testaments of anyone else), is to have been born of a virgin. Even from earliest times, Jesus Christ is presented to us as unique. Jesus is the descendant of Judah, Genesis 49:8-12, yet God is His true Father (Genesis 49:24); on the other hand, he's the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. It's interesting that the fact that Jesus Christ is unique is everywhere foreshadowed in prophecy, but the extent and manner of His uniqueness had to wait until His conception for its full revelation.

3. Exodus and Deuteronomy. Jesus is the Passover Lamb, Exodus 12. This is not strictly a prophecy, in the sense that it is expressed in so many words; however, it is a prophetic event, in that the clear intention of the writer of Exodus is to separate Israel from Egypt in judgment, and the blood sprinkled on the doorposts in the shape of a cross protected the Israelite families from the Angel of Death. See 1 Cor. 5:7, Rev. 5:6-12, John 1:29-36. Jesus is the Prophet "like Moses," whom all Israel (and all men) are to hear, Deut. 18:15-19. See Acts 7:37. This makes Jesus the final "word from God" concerning the salvation of mankind (see Heb. 1:1-2); God has no more to say after Jesus, regarding salvation. Jesus is IT. (see 2 Samuel 7)

4. The Psalms and the Wisdom Literature: Many of the Psalms discuss Jesus Christ in His sufferings and glory, but they do so with David as the "personification" of Jesus (Matthew 1:1 partially explains this-Jesus is the "son of David" but mentioned first, since He is also the LORD of David (Matt 22:43 + Context), and his progenitor and Creator). Psalm 2: The entire Psalm is an announcement of Jesus' Victory over His foes, and what He will do with them as the King ("Yet have I set my King...); it concludes, "Kiss the Son..." meaning, bow down to Him as Lord...See Acts 4:25-31. Psalm 16:10, see the context; quoted in Acts 2:27; David did "see corruption;" Jesus did not-he rose from the dead. Psalm 22: The entire Psalm is a prophecy of the sufferings that Jesus experienced on the Cross. Psalm 110: This Psalm is a Psalm of the reigning King, Jesus. Jesus quotes it in Matt. 22:42-46, asking the question, "How can Messiah both be Son of David and Lord of David (the answer: Jesus is David's Creator-He is the "root and offspring of David," as we mentioned earlier). Acts 2:32 refers to Him as the Ascended Lord, in fulfillment of Prophecy. There are others, of course-Psalm 69; Psalm 45; Psalm 102; and on and on. David's heart beat with the heartbeat of His Descendant and Lord, and his songs unfolded the worship and work of Jesus Christ our Lord. Then there is Job, with his famous passage in Job 19:23-27.

5. The Prophets: Time and space fail me. But here are a couple: Isaiah 40:3-11; 49:5-6; Is. 50:5-7; And of course, Isaiah 52-53:12, the great theological statement of the reasons for the death of Jesus Christ. Then there is Daniel 7 and 9 (about the Return of Christ), And Zechariah-Zechariah 12:10, and Zechariah 13:6-7. These are truly amazing, and reflect the Divine intention to bring His Son into the world that "the world through Him might be saved," and then for Him to return as King of Kings.